Europe worries drag stocks lower in early trading

By: The Associated Press September 12, 2011Comments Off on Europe worries drag stocks lower in early trading

Stocks fell Monday on worries that Greece could be edging closer to defaulting on its debt. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note reached another record low as investors piled into U.S. government debt.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 70 points, or 0.6 percent, to 10,921 at 10:30 a.m. It had been down as many as 135 points shortly after the opening bell.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 6, or 0.5 percent, to 1,148.

Technology stocks fared better than the overall market following news of a semiconductor deal. The Nasdaq fell less than point to 2,467.

Worries over Europe’s debt crisis drove traders into Treasurys, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 1.87 percent, the lowest since the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis began keeping daily records in 1962. During the financial crisis in late 2008, the 10-year yield hit a low of 2.05 percent.

European bank shares fell sharply over worries about their exposure to Greek government debt. Traders fear that Greece could default on its debts, and European policymakers are divided over how to handle the crisis. Investors are also worried that ratings agencies may downgrade the credit ratings of French banks, which could bring more instability to Europe’s beleaguered financial system.

The resignation of a key European Central Bank official Friday combined with worries over a new recession in the United States led to a large stock market sell-off. The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index have fallen for six of the past seven weeks.

A default by Greece or one of the continent’s other heavily indebted governments could ripple through the global markets and make it more difficult for other European countries to borrow money. Economists worry that Europe’s financial crisis could tip a weakening U.S. economy into another recession.

McGraw-Hill Cos. rose 2.6 percent. The company said it will split into two public companies, with one unit focused on education services and the other centered on markets, including the rating agency Standard & Poor’s and J.D. Power and Associates.

NetLogic Microsystems Inc. jumped 50 percent after Broadcom Corp. said it has agreed to acquire the maker of semiconductors for $3.7 billion. Bank of America Corp. rose 1 percent after its CEO, Brian Moynihan, announced new cost-cutting goals.

Wynn Resorts rose 2 percent after a unit of the casino operator said it had a signed a deal to build a resort in Macau. Casinos have been expanding their operations in the former Portuguese colony, considered the world’s most lucrative gambling market.